


The Delicate Balance Between Work and Play

by DoctorLazarus



Category: Regular Show
Genre: College, Comedy, Drama, Friendship, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-10
Updated: 2020-02-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:54:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22652812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoctorLazarus/pseuds/DoctorLazarus
Summary: After finding out Rigby faked his college admittance letter, Mordecai re-applies to College U. But now that he has studies, he can't hang out with Rigby as often, and this causes a strain on their friendship. In the middle of it all, Rigby finds a new friend.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A disclaimer: I'm not too familiar with how college works in the US so some elements might end up resembling the UK system more.
> 
> Also, I am ignoring the events of "The Real Thomas".

“Alright everyone. Gather around for your mail.” Benson handed out the envelopes he held in his hand. “Muscle Man, here’s one for you. Hi Five Ghost, one for you, and also there’s one for you, Skips.”

“Alright, neat! My letter from Starla’s finally arrived!”

“Starla? She doesn’t seem like the sort of person who writes.” The ghost floated over to his friend.

“It’s a special occasion, Fives. Starla thought it’d be nice if she wrote a letter for our anniversary instead of a phone call.”

“But your anniversary’s in five weeks?”

“She didn’t want it to get stuck in USPS.” Eagerly, Muscle Man tore open his letter. “Hey, wait a minute! This isn’t from Starla! It’s a letter summoning me to jury duty!”

Over at the side of the house, a blue jay and a racoon were busy washing the windows. The racoon, Rigby, took a look over at his coworkers and rolled his eyes.

“Ugh. Look at them, Mordecai. Getting all excited over pieces of paper.”

“You’re just jealous because you never get anything good in the mail.”

“STOPTALKING!” The racoon scrubbed the pane of glass in front of him harder. “Why do we even need to clean these, anyway? Nobody looks out the window of the house. Plus, they’re gonna get dirty again eventually.”

“Hey, honestly? I’d rather be doing this over feeding the ducks or weeding the plants. At least we’re just standing here in the shade.”

“That’s because you’re using the hose. I’m the one doing all the hard work.” The racoon held up the cloth he was using to emphasise his point.

“It’s not my fault you’re so small you can’t use a hose because the water pressure is so strong you literally get blasted backwards, dude.”

“Mordecai.” The two were interrupted by the gumball machine standing behind them. “Here’s a letter for you.”

“Aw sweet, thanks Benson!”

“Wait, you got a letter?” The racoon looked over at his friend. “Who’s it from?”

Mordecai, looking at the envelope he held, slid it under his arm. “Uh, it’s private.”

“Ah come on, what kind of letter is so private you can’t tell your ol’ pal Rigby, huh?” The racoon elbowed the blue jay playfully.

“It’s a thing I’m working on, okay?”

“Hmm. Hmmhmm. About time you started planning my awesome birthday party. Just a reminder, I’d like a cake stripper!”

“Hmph.” Benson made a face. “You’d better not hire a stripper for Rigby’s birthday party, Mordecai. Or for any occasion, for that matter.”

“Okay first, no I’m not going to hire a stripper, and second, this letter has nothing to do with Rigby’s birthday party.” The blue jay retorted.

“Then what is it about? Gimme.” Rigby tried to grab the letter from Mordecai’s hands, but he was too short to reach. The blue jay gently pushed the procyon away with his foot.

“No Rigby! Don’t you have windows to wash?”

“Leave the guy alone, Rigby. Everyone’s entitled to their secrets. Now get back to work OR YOU’RE FIRED!” With that, Benson turned and left.

“Rigby, could you hold the fort for a bit? I want to read this letter.”

“Okay man, but you better tell me what’s in that letter eventually. We’ve never kept anything from each other, I hope we’re not gonna start now.” Rigby resumed his scrubbing duties.

“Alright, I will eventually. Don’t be so hysterical.” With that, Mordecai walked over to a nearby tree. Standing behind it the blue jay took the letter out from under his arm and glanced over at the logo printed on it. A golden shield split into quadrants, coloured purple, with an eagle on the left and a bunch of grapes on the corner.

The unmistakable coat of arms of College U.

Mordecai gave a small smile.


	2. Chapter 2

Carefully tearing the sealed envelope open, Mordecai took out the letter that was inside. Unfolding it, he started to read:

_Dear Mordecai,_

_I am delighted to inform you that the Dean of the College for Everyone has notified us of your acceptance to College University for the Fall semester. You have been accepted as a candidate for the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in the Character Animation program, to begin at the first year level._

_We must have official evidence by July 1, that you have graduated from high school or passed an equivalency examination. Failure to supply this to us can jeopardize both your admission status and your financial aid._

_We noted that you have previously attempted to apply for this degree and have received an acceptance letter, 7 years ago. We do hope that you are actually going to attend this time._

_Best regards,_

_Jonathan Quintel_

Mordecai rolled his eyes at that last part. It wasn’t his intention not to go, but Rigby forged his letter and made him think he didn’t get in. Almost the instant they’d defeated their old teacher and returned to the present, Mordecai had secretly re-applied to College U. Glancing around behind the tree, the blue jay saw the racoon lying on his back instead of working on the windows like he was supposed to. A mixture of annoyance and guilt filled him.

On the one hand, he was still pretty pissed that Rigby would go so far as to sabotage his entire future just to avoid losing him, getting him stuck at this dead-end job. On the other hand, the poor guy didn’t have anyone else. Honestly, Rigby’s life was ultra crummy, and his actions were...almost understandable, aside from maybe he should’ve tried asking Mordecai not to go first. Mordecai hadn’t told Rigby about any of this, and he wondered how he would take it.

Still, there was no point in telling him if he _couldn’t_ go, so the blue jay discreetly slipped past the racoon and headed into the house towards Benson’s office. Knocking twice, he heard a grunt which he took to mean “Come in” and opened the door.

“Hey Benson.” Mordecai didn’t say a word, but simply dropped his letter on the table.

“What’s this?” Benson picked up the letter and read it. Looking up, he raised an eyebrow. “You re-applied to College U?”

Mordecai nodded. “And I’m asking for permission to leave the park and go attend classes when necessary.”

The gumball machine thought for a bit. “Well, I would really like it if the park wasn’t down an employee, but I do appreciate you trying to improve yourself via education...the duties at the park can _probably_ be covered if everyone does a bit more...okay.” Benson gave a sigh. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you can go.”

“Really? Alright, thanks Benson! Whooooooaaaahhh!” The blue jay raised his arms in a cheer.

“Please don’t do that in my office. Also, Rigby’s fine with all of this?”

Hearing Rigby’s name brought Mordecai back down to Earth. “Oh, right. I actually haven’t told him yet.”

“Well, tell me when you’re about to so I can remain a safe distance away when he flips.” The gumball machine went back to his duties. “Close the door on the way out, will you?”

On his way down the stairs Mordecai pondered how best to break the news to Rigby. Would it be better to tell him now so that he’d have plenty of time to come round to the idea by the time Mordecai went off, or should he wait until the last minute? Entering the living room, Mordecai placed the envelope and letter on the coffee table where their video game system laid.

Looking at the video game system reminded Mordecai of the time he’d entered the tournament for the Maximum Glove, and that’s when he got an idea: Skips! Mordecai could just ask Skips for advice. Sprinting down the stairs and across the park, Mordecai reached the small house where the guy lived and knocked on the door frantically.

“Alright, alright. I’m coming.” Skips opened the door. “What is it, Mordecai?”

“Skips, I have an issue. See, I re-applied to College U and got accepted, but I’m not sure how to tell Rigby.”

“College U, huh?” Skips scratched his chin. “You mean that place Rigby forged a letter from to make you think you didn’t get in?”

“Yeah, that one.”

“Well, I’m not really much of a relationship advice sort of person, but I’ve found that people take bad news best when they’re in a really good mood. So I’d suggest you go buy Rigby a burrito or something, and then tell him.”

“Burrito. Got it. Much appreciated, Skips.” With that, Mordecai sprinted back over to the place where the burrito truck was. Grabbing his wallet out of his pocket, Mordecai ordered what he knew to be Rigby’s favourite burrito, threw a couple of dollars at the salesman, then headed back over to the house where Rigby was.

Rigby was still lazing about on the grass, but he sat up when he heard Mordecai. Seeing the burrito he gave a wide smile. “Mordecai, bud! You got a burrito for me. You’re the best.”

Again, Mordecai felt a small pang of guilt, but he tried to push it away. Putting on a cheerful façade, the blue jay handed the burrito he held over to his friend, who started munching on it happily. Seeing Rigby like this made Mordecai get an actual smile. He might be a bit of an asshole at times, but he’s still a loveable goofball to the avian.

“Hey, so I’ve got some news...it’s about that letter from before.” Mordecai scratched his head awkwardly.

“Mmm hmm?” Rigby murmured, his mouth full. The blue jay took a deep breath.

“I’ve re-applied to College U and that was their letter and they’ve written to tell me they’ve accepted me and I’m going to be starting classes this September.” Exhale.

The burrito turned out to not be a good idea, as Rigby started choking. Mordecai gave him a few thumps on the back until the procyon’s breathing returned to normal.

“WHAT?!?!”

“Rigby, calm down! It’s not like we’re never going to see each other, especially since you’re not going to an out of state college. You’ll still be here at the park, and I’ll still be here at the park when I don’t have classes.”

“But why? Why do you even need to go to college? You’ve already got a job here at the park.” Rigby gestured to the landscape behind him. “Who couldn’t love a place like this?”

“Yeah, a lousy job that I’m pretty sure is paying us below minimum wage.” The blue jay crossed his arms. “I want a better job, with more money so we’re not scraping by, Rigby.”

“Dude, they provide us with housing, with food, with everything! Can you blame them for paying us a bit less? Come on Mordecai, don’t leave me.”

“I’m not leaving you man. I’ll just be seeing you a bit less for the next few years.”

“Yeah, but then what next? If you find a different job, you’re not going to be at the park anymore now wouldya?”

“That’s ages in the future, man. Things will have changed since then, and – hey!” While Mordecai was talking, the racoon had grabbed hold of the bird’s leg, hugging tight and not letting go. “Get off, Rigby!”

“Never! How are you going to go to college now, huh?”

“You’re so immature, Rigby.” Struggling a bit with the extra weight on him, Mordecai stumbled over to the hose that lay discarded on the ground. “Are you going to hug me for the next three months until September arrives?”

“No, just until you give up on college.”

“Well, good luck with that.” The blue jay turned on the hose, water gushing out like a dam had been broken. Pointing the stream of liquid down towards him, the water pressure eventually made Rigby lose his grip, sending him tumbling.

“Aaah! That’s cold, man!”

“Well, shyeah. It’s water.”

“I meant emotionally cold.” The racoon rubbed his forearms, shivering a bit. Rigby tried another strategy. “I’ll get you that cake stripper you wanted!”

“Dude, _you_ wanted a cake stripper!”

“Oh yeah. Right.” The racoon gave a sigh, realising he wasn’t going to convince Mordecai out of this. “I think I’m going to lie down for a bit.” Rigby started to head indoors, but before he could take a step Mordecai laid a hand on his shoulder.

“Listen, dude.” Mordecai kneeled down so he was at eye level with Rigby. “I know this is really upsetting for you, but I promise that no matter what happens we will remain friends. That’s not going to change.”

Rigby stared straight into Mordecai’s eyes. “Promise?”

“Promise.”

Rigby bit his lip for a second before throwing his arms around Mordecai. Shocked, the blue jay took a moment to reciprocate, putting his own arms around the racoon.

“I love you, Mordecai.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”


	3. Chapter 3

“Man, I still can’t believe you’re going to college.”

“Come on Fives, it’s been a month. You should’ve gotten round to the idea by now.”

“Yeah, but there’s a major difference between knowing and it actually happening. Things will be so different around here.” The ghost took another look at the backpack Mordecai had in the golf cart. “What do you have in there, anyway?”

“Huh, well,” The blue jay blushed a bit. “It’s actually empty. I wanted to look more like an actual college student, you know?”

“I was wondering why you were bringing so much stuff just for orientation. By the way, try to be back in four hours.”

“Alright, Benson. No need to get your balls tied in a knot.”

“That doesn’t even make sense.” The gumball machine replied.

“Where’s Rigby?” Skips looked around. “You’d think he’d be here to see you go off.”

The blue jay shrugged. “He said he didn’t want to get all emotional, so he’s locked himself in his room.”

“Dude, quit gossiping and go Mordecai! Or you’re going to be late, and you don’t want to be late on your first day.”

“Alright, Muscle Man. Bye. See ya in a few hours.” Waving, Mordecai started the engine and drove off. “GPS, tell me how to get to College U.”

‘Yᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴀʀʀɪᴠᴇᴅ ᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴅᴇsᴛɪɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴ.’

“Wait, what?” Turning his head, Mordecai saw the campus. “Seriously? It’s only five blocks away?” Head shaking, the blue jay looked around for a spot to park, finding it quite difficult due to the lack of space. “Man, I should’ve just walked over here.”

Eventually though the avian decided to give up and just park on the sidewalk – technically since it wasn’t a car it wasn’t illegal, or at least that’s what he told himself – and grabbed his backpack. It was a lot heavier than he expected and Mordecai accidentally dropped it onto the hard concrete.

“Ow!” A familiar voice came out of the bag.

“What the – Rigby?” Unzipping, Mordecai peeked inside to see the racoon, who immediately popped out like a cake stripper.

“Surprise, Mordé-fucker! I’ve decided to come with you!”

“Rigby, what the H, man! You can’t be here!”

“Well, why not?” The racoon gave a cheeky grin. “There’s no rule saying non-students can’t tag along during orientation.”

“I...” The blue jay raised a finger to protest, but put it down when he realised Rigby was right. “Okay, fine. But you’d better not pull this stunt when I have actual classes.”

“What, not even on your actual birthday – OW!” Mordecai had bonked Rigby on the head.

“For the last time, _you_ wanted a cake stripper. Not me.”

“Oh, heh heh. Right.” Stepping out of the backpack, Rigby took a look at his surroundings. “Wow. College U. Hey, isn’t that Thomas over there?”

“Huh?” Squinting, Mordecai looked over at where Rigby was pointing. “Oh yeah, that _does_ look like Thomas. HEY THOMAS!” Mordecai called.

Hearing his name, the goat looked over in their direction, giving a smile when he saw who they were and walking over. “Mordecai! Rigby! So good to see you two again.”

“Man, it’s been a whole year since we’ve seen each other. Can’t believe you turned down a full time job at the park after your internship expired.”

Thomas shrugged. “Well, I kinda had to, since I needed to finish my studies. A full time job wouldn’t give me enough time. Plus,” The goat leaned closer to Mordecai. “ _I think they’re paying you below minimum wage._ ” He whispered.

“Yeah, I kinda suspected that too. It’s why I’m here, to hopefully get a degree and get a better job.”

“Ahem.” Rigby fake-coughed to get their attention.

“Rigby! You’re here to get a de...” Thomas started, but stopped when he saw Mordecai frantically waving his hands and shaking his head in the universal ‘don’t continue that sentence’ gesture. “...Here to get a delightful look at the campus?” Thomas finished lamely.

Thankfully either Rigby didn’t notice or pretended not to, because he gave a thumbs up in response. Quickly, Mordecai changed the subject.

“So Thomas, why’re you here at orientation if you’re already past freshman year?”

“Oh, I’m volunteering to help.” Thomas pointed at the badge he was wearing on his shirt. “I should also probably inform you your golf cart is illegally parked on the pavement.”

“Well, there’s no space anywhere!” Mordecai responded.

“I’m not an officer so I won’t say any more, but if your cart gets impounded don’t say I didn’t warn you.” The goat gestured over at the buildings. “So what are you majoring in? I’ll point you in the right direction.”

“Fine arts.”

“Ah, fine arts. You’d want that building over there.” Thomas indicated. “Can’t miss it, it says FARTS in big letters on the top.”

“Heh heh.” Rigby chuckled, earning him a punch from Mordecai. “Ow!”

“Hey Thomas, I don’t think I ever asked, but what are you majoring in?”

“Urban landscaping and architecture. Why do you think I got an internship at a park?”

“Because you’re a goat, and there’s grass there?” snickered Rigby.

“Asshole.”

“Yeah Rigby, don’t be such an asshole.”

Just then, a bell chimed out, informing the three that it was 11am.

“Uh oh. That’s the bell warning you you have five minutes.” Thomas said. “You two had better run.”

“Shit! Bye Thomas, see ya!” With that, Mordecai and Rigby sprinted over to the FARTS building. Following the signs, the duo yanked open a door and into a lecture hall where other students were sitting, just in time to see the professor come in.

“Hello everyone, and I’d like to welcome you to College U. First, I would like to say that this is the orientation for folks attending the Bachelor of Fine Arts program. Is anyone here not attending that degree?” Looking around and seeing no raised hands, he continued, “Alright then. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Doctor Leigh, and I am the Head of the Department of Fine Arts here at College U. Most of the time I’ll be working behind the scenes, so let me introduce you to the professors who’ll be teaching...”

* * *

“Well, that was the boringest thing I’ve ever been in. Now I’m kinda glad I didn’t get into college. This place is lame.”

“Rigby!”

“What, just saying it like it is. So what’s next on the schedule?”

“Campus tour.” The blue jay read out the sheet of paper he held. “And then refreshments.”

“Whoooooaaaaah!”

Their conversation was interrupted when a familiar cream goat came over. “Hi, everyone. I’m Thomas, and I’ll be taking you on a short walk around College U. If everyone could just follow me...”

“Dude, Thomas is doing the tour?” Rigby chuckled and elbowed Mordecai, an idea coming to him. “Do you think he has the keys to the off-access areas? You can totally steal all the test answers – OW!”

“First, Rigby, I’m not gonna cheat, I’m going to do this legit. Second, art degrees aren’t multiple choice tests, they have assessments.”

“Hmm. Hmmhmm. Write a 500 word assessment about how hot you think Margaret is – OW!”

“This building we’re standing in is the cafeteria, where we have a few shops that sell food in case you’re too lazy to cross the street, haha.” Thomas joked. A few people laughed along politely. “For real though, I think the hamburger here is really good. Much better than the frozen crap you find at certain snack bars.”

Rigby elbowed Mordecai to get his attention. “Dude, Mordecai! Thomas is talking shit about our park!”

“Well, duh. You’ve worked at the snack bar before, you know that the patties are just soggy microwaved garbage.”

“I’m gonna go buy a hamburger to see if it’s as good as Thomas says.” The racoon scrambled over to the store. “One hamburger, please.”

“Rigby, the group’s leaving.”

“Yeah yeah yeah. I’ll catch up to you, okay?”

Mordecai shrugged and left his friend behind.

“Here you go, sir. That’ll be 6 dollars.”

“6 dollars for a hamburger? That’s outrageous!”

The guy manning the counter, a grey-feathered swallow who looked a lot like Mordecai, pointed at the large grill behind him. “Well sir, they are made fresh.”

The racoon took a bite. “Oh wow. This is actually really good. Man, I wish Mordecai was here to join me.”

“Oh. I’m sorry for your loss, sir.”

“He’s not dead! He’s that blue jay that was with the tour group. He’s attending this college now, and I’m worried that we’re going to drift away.”

“I get how you feel. Long distance relationships can be tough.”

“What? No! We’re not dating.”

“Sorry, sir. My mistake.” The oriole grabbed a cloth and started wiping down the counter while Rigby continued to much on his food.

“You know, this hamburger is _amazing_. Who’s the distributor?”

“No distributor. It’s made right here, with fresh ingredients, by me.”

“Wow, that sounds...labour intensive.”

“It is. That’s why I charge 6 dollars for it.”

“I think you’re charging too little. Sorry I said it was overpriced earlier.”

“Eh. Pretty much everyone who comes here has the same reaction. Think it’s too expensive, take a bite, think it’s a bargain.” The swallow crumpled up the cloth into a ball and tossed it across the cafeteria, which landed neatly into a bin labelled LAUNDRY. Rigby couldn’t help but give a small impressed whistle.

“Where’d you learn to throw like that?”

“Basketball team. Don’t know why College U has that, but I used to be in it before I graduated.”

“You went to college and you end up working at a hamburger place?”

“So what? I get a decent income, and I don’t end up moving to a foreign city on the other side of the continent.”

Hearing that reminded Rigby about Mordecai, which made the racoon feel a bit bummed out again. “Ugh. I hope Mordecai ends up working nearby after _he_ graduates instead of ending up on the other side of the continent.”

Rigby looked down at his empty plate. Feeling a gentle weight on his shoulder, he looked up to see the swallow comforting him. “Sorry if I’m being too forward, but I hate to see anyone sad like this.” Hesitating for a second the bird continued, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Mordecai and I have been best friends for years. Well, technically, he’s my only friend. I don’t really know any other people. About five years ago when we had just graduated high school he got an offer to this place but I didn’t make it, and out of fear of losing my only friend I made him think he didn’t get in. But last year he found out and I guess he re-applied, and now here we are. Ugh, look at me sitting hererambling about my troubles to a complete stranger like some loser.”

“Tyler.”

“Huh?”

“My name’s Tyler.”

“Oh.” After a moment, the racoon offered, “Rigby.”

“Pleased to meet you, Rigby. The cafeteria’s actually pretty empty most of the time, so feel free to pop in whenever you feel like it for a chat.”

“Thanks. I’d like that.” Glancing over at a clock mounted on the wall, Rigby realised almost half an hour had passed. “Oh crap! I better go find Mordecai. Hey uh, do you know where the campus tour for the fine arts ends?”

“Sure. All tours end where they started, so just go back to where you started. I believe that would make it the FARTS building.”

“Heh heh. That never gets old.” Grabbing a 10 dollar bill from his pockets Rigby tossed it at the counter. “Keep the change.” Exiting the cafeteria Rigby headed over to the FARTS building where he found Mordecai and the rest of the tour group, who were just finishing up.

“Dude Mordecai, Thomas was right. The hamburger in the cafeteria is so good, you need to try a bite.”

“I’d love to Rigby, but I already ate.” Mordecai held out a canned drink. “Here, I got you some soda.”

“Ooh, nice. Thanks!” Rigby opened the can of soda with a _hiss_ and chugged it down.

“Now come on. It’s almost three pm, we’d better get back to the park before Benson yells at us again.”

“Oh, puh-leaze. Benson yells at us regardless of what we do. _Rigby, suck my dick or you’re fired!_ ” The racoon imitated the gumball machine.

“Wait, what?”

“Oh, nothing.”

The blue jay looked at the racoon suspiciously but he didn’t press any farther. “Alright. Let’s just retrieve our golf cart and...hey, where’d it go?”

“Ah, Mordecai. Rigby. I was waiting for you.” Thomas, standing there, came up to the duo. “As I’ve warned you, your golf cart has been towed.”

“Oh, what? Glob dammit!”


	4. Chapter 4

Mordecai woke up on an early Thursday morning. Remembering it was his first day of college the bird’s eyes snapped open. It was no good lazing about on the bed, so Mordecai quickly got up and got ready for his big day which, considering he didn’t wear clothes, mainly meant he just combed the feathers on his head. Looking over at Rigby’s trampoline he saw that it was empty – unusually, the racoon had woken up even earlier than him, despite work not starting for another hour and a half.

Walking downstairs and into the kitchen Mordecai saw Rigby seated on the table. An empty bowl lay across from him, along with a jug of milk and box of cereal. Upon spotting his friend the racoon waved.

“Morning Mordecai! Ready to go to college?”

“Hell yeah I am!” Grabbing a chair and sitting down across from the racoon Mordecai poured out breakfast for himself. “Aren’t you gonna have cereal?”

“Nah. I want to go grab a hamburger at that hamburger place at College U.”

“What? Benson’s not going to be happy if you bail on the morning meeting.”

“Relax, Mordecai. I’m not bailing anything.” The racoon pointed at the clock on the wall. “See, it’s currently seven thirty. Once we set off for college, we’ll arrive at campus by eight, which is the exact time the hamburger place opens. I’ll buy a hamburger, eat it – which should take thirty minutes – then come back here by nine, just in time for the briefing.”

Mordecai harrumphed. “Alright dude, but that seems like you’re cutting it really close.”

“It’s okay man. I got it.”

Finishing the cereal Mordecai put the bowl in the sink, the cereal in the cabinet, and the milk back in the fridge. Heading out the back door the two began the walk towards College U, not taking the golf cart since a) it wasn’t that far, and b) Benson had forbidden them from using the cart outside the park after they got it impounded and had to pay $150 to get it back.

Being autumn meant that leaves were turning colours and falling off trees everywhere. A cool breeze started blowing in, sending more leaves flying about. It would’ve been a pretty sight, but both Mordecai and Rigby could only think of all the work that they would have to do in the afternoon.

Actually, that was only half true – Mordecai was more distracted thinking about his upcoming lecture.

Reaching the gates of College U Mordecai waved goodbye to his friend and headed off towards the FARTS building, while Rigby made his way to the cafeteria. Unlike orientation day where the entire floor was deserted, today there were actually a few people here and there, but the hamburger place was devoid of customers. Rigby walked over and sat down on one of the stools.

Tyler smiled when he saw the racoon. “Rigby! What can I get you?”

The racoon finger-gunned the swallow. “Got anything recommended?”

“Sure. Today’s special is the chimichanga hamburger. All the ingredients of a burrito, but it’s a hamburger.”

“Oh. My. Glob.” Rigby’s eyes went wide. “Yes.”

Tyler chuckled at the racoon in front of him acting like a little kid. “Sure thing, buddy. One chimichanga burger coming up.”

“Hey Tyler, how come your place is the only stall that’s empty?”

Tyler shrugged. “Partly because of the high prices, but mostly because it’s eight in the morning and people don’t want to have hamburgers at eight in the morning.”

“Everyone here is completely missing out.” Rigby said, taking a bite. “Ish never too early for burgers.”

“Well, it’s good to know you think my place is so good it’s worth coming all the way here just to have a slice.”

“Well, it’s also my friend Mordecai’s first day here, so I thought I might as well accompany him.” Rigby chewed slowly in thought. “But now that you mention it, do you do takeout?”

“Sadly no.” The swallow replied. “I’m a one man operation, I can’t deliver as well. Although I do do takeaway.”

“In that case, I want six chimichanga hamburgers to takeaway for my co-workers.”

“Half a dozen hamburgers, coming up.”

Mordecai checked his watch for the third time in 10 minutes. If he didn’t know better, he’d say his watch was broken for how slowly it crawled. But unfortunately the time on its face matched the clock on the wall. Two clocks being broken so that they showed the same time was very unlikely. Mordecai gave a sigh.

_Rigby was right. This is kinda boring._

The professor was talking about Alan Turing and the history of computing, which seemed like the last thing that had anything to do with his degree. Okay, Mordecai _was_ taking character animation, but still the bird wasn’t convinced you to know what was multi-core processing or how floating point operations worked in order to use Abodé Frash. Not to mention, Mordecai thought the first day would simply consist of introductions to the modules he selected so he didn’t bring anything to write on, and all of this technical stuff was very likely going in one ear and out the other. Glancing around Mordecai noted that unlike him everyone else had brought along either paper or their laptop and were attentively making notes, and the blue jay wondered if he’d been a bit underprepared for college.

Mordecai took a glance at the door. He’d expected Rigby to come in wearing some stereotypical college outfit and sit down next to him pretending to be a student, but the door remained firmly closed. Normally Rigby would be being an ass and distracting him from work, but for once Mordecai wanted that distraction to be here so that he’d be less bored out of his mind. _I guess he was serious about getting a hamburger. Who knew?_

Mordecai checked his watch for the fourth time. 13 minutes into the lecture, still 37 minutes to go.

* * *

“Alright, it’s 9am.” Benson looked around. “I know Mordecai is at college, but where’s Rigby?”

“Coming!” Rigby scooted up behind him, holding up a box. “I brought hamburgers for everyone.”

“Aw, sweet man! Thanks Rigby.” Muscle Man hopped up from where he was sitting on the stairs and grabbed a bun.

“Yeah, this is really nice of you, Rigby.” Benson’s eyes narrowed. “You didn’t break something and this is your way to apologise, did you?”

“Benson, Benson, Benson. I can’t believe you would assume so badly of me. Can’t a racoon do something nice every once in a while?”

“Well, you can’t really blame us for wondering, Rigby.” Skips took a bite of his hamburger. “Especially when you bring a hamburger that tastes like this. It’s got to have cost you a pretty penny.”

The racoon gave a sigh of defeat. “Okay, fine. I brought everyone hamburgers because I want permission to head off to college for lunch.”

“What?! Absolutely not, Rigby. I can’t have two employees down.”

“We won’t both be down at once, Benson. When Mordecai is off on campus I’ll be here. And when Mordecai is here, I’ll be off. Besides,” the racoon pointed out, “I’ll only be off during lunch break, anyway. What’s the big deal? It’s not like I’ll be working otherwise.”

“The big deal is that your hour of lunch break is not enough time for you to go all the way to College U campus and come back. Unlike that coffee shop you normally visit, which I can almost spot if I just turn around and that grove of trees isn’t blocking the way, College U is a good further away.” Benson took a bite of his hamburger. “Though I will admit it is good burger.”

“Come on Benson! Please?”

“No, Rigby. End of discussion.”

“Hmph.” The racoon snorted, displeased.

“I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear that. Now let’s go back to the meeting; everyone will have to do a bit of extra work since Mordecai won’t be joining us for another hour. Skips, there’s a pothole in one of the paths. Go and fill it in.”

“On it.”

“Muscle Man and High Five Ghost, a bunch of kids thought it’d be funny to TP the trees. Go clean it up.”

“Aw what? Lousy kids.” Muscle Man stormed off, his ghostly friend floating after him.

“Rigby, the fountain’s acting up and no water is coming out. Go see what the problem is and fix it.”

“Are you serious?” Rigby exclaimed. “I don’t even know how to do plumbing. Why me?”

Benson gave a sigh. “Because Rigby, Skips has to fill in a pothole and I don’t know how long it’ll take. Unbelievably, you’re actually the next most qualified person, because Muscle Man is atrocious at handy work and High Five Ghost isn’t going to be willing to split up with Muscle Man. Now go fix the fountain OR YOU’RE FIRED!” With that, Benson absconded. Grumbling, the racoon went in the garage and grabbed a bag filled with an assortment of tools; not sure what he might need, he took the entire thing. Dragging it with some difficulty, Rigby tossed it onto the golf cart and climbed into the driver seat. Rigby’s short stature made the racoon realise he wasn’t going to be able to drive sitting down, so with more complaining the racoon opted to just stand. Thankfully as it was a golf cart it wasn’t too difficult to handle, and Rigby managed to get to the fountain without much issue.

The hardest part came next, as Rigby wasn’t sure what to do. First he decided to bang on the thing with a wrench but unfortunately that didn’t fix the issue whatever it was, so the racoon had to remove the decorative piece and peer inside the pipe. There, Rigby saw the problem.

“Well, at least it’s only a simple clogged pipe.” Rigby muttered to himself before reaching in and trying to clear it. Pulling with his might, Rigby managed to remove the obstruction – a tennis ball.

“Geez, how did a tennis ball even get jammed-” Rigby didn’t get to finish his sentence because the fountain started spraying him full of water; he’d forgotten to turn it off first. Spluttering, Rigby climbed out of the fountain, soaked.

“I hate my life.”


	5. Chapter 5

Exiting the FARTS building Mordecai blinked a few times, trying to get used to the bright sunlight after being stuck in a dark lecture hall for the past hour. It was late morning and the bird was supposed to get back to the park to do...whatever Benson wanted him to do, but after being bored out of his mind for so long the avian was really dreading more menial work. Willing himself to take a step, his legs stubbornly refused to move.

Conceding that he wasn’t getting anywhere unless he had a sit down to drink something and give his mind a break, the blue jay headed right back inside FARTS to the vending machine. Fumbling about in his pockets to find a dollar, the blue jay eventually found a crumpled up note and shoved it into the slot of the auto-box in front of him.

Unfortunately the dollar bill was too crumpled and the machine’s sensors didn’t recognise it as valid, spitting it back out unceremoniously. After shoving the note back in and the same thing happening a few times, Mordecai gave a grunt of annoyance and changed plans: he’d just head over to the actual coffee shop he normally visited. At least as a bonus he’d get fresh(ish) coffee instead of canned goop.

Heading over to the coffee shop, Mordecai shivered a bit in the cold. It was odd; the blue jay never felt cold before and he was a bit puzzled whether this autumn was an especially freezing one, but after he’d been walking for a minute he felt much warmer and he realised that sitting in a room immobile for an hour was likely not doing wonders for his body temperature. Since under normal circumstances he’d be doing chores at the park and being active it kept him from feeling the chill.

Great. That meant he’d need to start wearing a sweater.

Mordecai reached the coffee shop and went in. Eileen was taking an order for another table, but upon hearing the bell _ding_ alerting her a customer had entered she turned around to see the arrival. After spotting it was just Mordecai though she went back to taking the order.

“Bit busy, Mordecai. Just sit down and I’ll get to you.”

“Sure, whatever. Take your time.” Sitting down in his usual place Mordecai turned his attention to the TV mounted on the ceiling, a news programme discussing the effects a new bill would have on gas prices. It was miles better than the lecture he had to sit through, but it was still boring. Benson paid for the gas in the golf cart anyway, so it didn’t concern him.

“Alright Mordecai, what can I get ya? Also, where’s Rigby?” Eileen had finished her previous duties and was now standing next to Mordecai’s table.

“Oh hey Eileen. Rigby’s at the park working. I’m just here to grab a coffee.”

“One coffee. Anything else?”

“Nope, I’m good.”

“I’ll get your coffee. Shouldn’t be more than a couple minutes.” With that, Eileen headed towards the kitchen.

Pulling out his phone Mordecai texted Rigby. _Just finished lectures. Boring af. Wassup @ park?_

A few seconds later he got a response. _Benson wanted me 2 fix fountain. Got soaked._

Mordecai chuckled imagining the little racoon drenched in head to toe.

“Alright Mordecai. Here’s two coffees.”

“Two coffees, Eileen? I only ordered one.”

“The other one’s for Rigby. Tell him it’s on the house.” Eileen opened her mouth to say something else, but another customer had walked in and she had to leave to take their order.

Mordecai texted Rigby again. _Im @ coffee shop. Eileen gave U free coffee. She totally likes U lol._

The blue jay didn’t get a response for a few minutes and at first, Mordecai thought Rigby was too busy to answer. However, a response finally came – one a lot longer than Mordecai had expected.

_Are you serious, dude? I’m slaving away here at the park, having to do duties that are outside my job description because you had to go to college and everyone needed to cover for one employee being down. Instead of getting your ass back here_ _ASAP_ _you’re at the fucking coffee shop having coffee_ _like you’re on vacation in Paris_ _. WTF, man?_

Mordecai re-read the SMS a few times, not used to being chewed out by Rigby. A bit of guilt settled in his stomach – he hadn’t realised that his being absent would cause so much disruption. He’d always thought that since all he ever did at the park was clean and run errands the park would be fine without him, but now Mordecai figured that Benson was pulling a lot more strings than he’d let on in order to give Mordecai the chance to go to college.

Feeling really shitty Mordecai quickly downed the rest of the cup and tossed what he owed on the table. Grabbing the other cup that Eileen said was for Rigby, Mordecai headed out the door and across the street to the park where he eventually found the racoon trimming the bushes.

“Rigby dude! Look, I’m sorry I blew my job off to go have coffee. I didn’t realise how much more work everyone had to do behind the scenes because of me.” The blue jay held out the cup in his hand. “Eileen wanted me to give this to you.”

Rigby took the drink and had a sip. “You forgot the sugar.”

“Oh. Whoops.”

The racoon gave a sigh. “It’s not really _that_ much more work. I guess I was just feeling pissed since you’re in college now and I don’t get to see you as often. Plus, being sprayed with dirty water from a fountain will put anyone in a bad mood.” Holding up a fist, Rigby grinned and said, “Just don’t do that again.”

Mordecai returned the fist bump. “Heh. I won’t.”

Forgetting it lacked sugar, Rigby took another sip of coffee and made a face. “Bleugh. I don’t know how people have black coffee; this tastes awful. Mordecai, I’m kinda busy here with the bushes, can you put this on the kitchen table for me?”

“Course dude. No problem.” Mordecai set off and crossed the park, quickly ascending the stairs to the house and crossing the living room into the kitchen. Reaching the kitchen table Mordecai spotted a hamburger lying on it.

“Aw, sweet!” Mordecai said to himself, placing down Rigby’s coffee and picking it up. He was about to have a bite when Rigby’s words floated back to him. Giving a sigh, Mordecai concluded he could probably wait until lunch to have the hamburger. In any case, he needed to grab a pair of hedge clippers from the garage first, so a quick detour later Mordecai was ready to go, strutting across the grass to the area of the park where Rigby was working.

“Hey. Got your back.”

“Great. Benson wants us to trim these bushes so they’re neat and orderly. You can start from the opposite end and we’ll meet in the middle.”

“Gotcha.” Mordecai went to work. Being separated the two didn’t get a chance to speak to each other, so both of them remained silent and focused on their duties until the bushes were...passable, at least.

Rigby wiped the sweat from his forehead – his short stature made everything more difficult, but at least with the both of them they had managed to knock out the job. Checking his phone Rigby saw it was noon, which was his indication to bail for lunch. Rigby’s spirits lifted; there was still one takeaway hamburger left and he looked forward to eating it. Dragging the heavy pair of hedge clippers behind him Rigby dumped the thing into the back seat of the golf cart and got in, Mordecai getting in after.

“Dude, don’t you want me to drive?”

“Nah, I’m good.” The racoon stepped on the gas pedal and floored it to max speed, which wasn’t much since ultimately it was a golf cart and they don’t travel that quickly. So cruising just above sprinting speed the duo reached the house, Rigby barely avoiding crashing through the garage door.

“Rigby! I knew I should’ve been the one driving.” Mordecai chided his friend.

“It’s fine, Mordecai. We made it in one piece, didn’t we?” The racoon stepped off the golf cart and entered the house, opting not to put anything back in the garage until he found out what Benson wanted them to do next – no point wasting energy dragging a heavy duffel bag to and fro.

Speaking of Benson, Rigby entered the kitchen and saw the aforementioned gumball machine, who was happily munching on the hamburger Rigby had saved for himself.

“Aw what?” The procyon exclaimed, indignant.

Hearing Rigby’s voice Benson turned. “Oh hey Rigby. Just thought I’d have the rest of that hamburger you brought for us.”

“Benson, that was my burger!”

“Oh.” The gumball machine swallowed. “Oops.”

It was then that Mordecai came in.

“Hey Mordecai. How was college?”

“Boring.”

“Really? Do tell.”

“Well...”

Benson rolled his eyes. “I was being sarcastic when I said to tell me. In any case, now that both of you are free, you need to go rake the leaves.”

“Benson, we just raked yesterday?”

“It’s fall. Leaves are everywhere, what did you expect?” Finishing his hamburger Benson headed out the door, threatening the two of them with unemployment unless they did what he told them to do like he usually did.

“I still can’t believe Benson ate my hamburger.” Rigby remarked.

“I’ve never even had a bite, Rigby. Count yourself lucky.”

The racoon retorted, “The hamburger place is at College U. You could just pop over there any time you have a lecture. I need to go over there specifically, and Benson’s forbidden me from going during lunch break because he says it’ll take too much time.”

“That’s rough, man. Benson can be such a control freak at times.”

“Come on.” Rigby gestured his head toward the door by the fridge that led outside. “Let’s go rake the damn leaves.”


	6. Chapter 6

“Morning, Rigby.”

“Morning.” The racoon could barely keep awake. “You’re up early today.”

“I have lectures in an hour.”

“What? But it’s our day off!”

“It’s also Monday.”

“Ugh.” The racoon poured himself a glass of water. “Why does Benson give us Mondays off?”

“Probably because nobody visits parks on Mondays.” The blue jay glanced at the clock. “I better go.”

“Sure, Mordecai. Don’t be a stranger.” Rigby tried not to sound too miffed.

Mordecai left via the back door. Rigby swooshed his glass of water idly. “Great. Now what do I do?” He could play a video game, but all the ones he had were multiplayer. “Maybe I should go to the mall and buy something I could play solo.”

Grabbing his keys and wallet the racoon headed towards the mall and entered the video game store. Browsing through the aisles he tried to find something interesting, but they were all too expensive. Empty-handed, the racoon left. Lost in his thoughts, Rigby didn’t pay attention to the road ahead and smashed into someone. Both of them crashed on the floor.

“Oof! Watch where you’re going you – Rigby?”

“Tyler? What are you doing here?”

The swallow dusted himself off. “I wanted to see the new skating rink they just opened up.”

“Don’t you have work?” Rigby asked.

“No, someone else mans the stall on Mondays.”

“How bizarre. I’ve got Mondays off, too.”

“Well, do you want to join me?”

“I don’t know how to skate.”

“Really?” Tyler asked. “Wouldn’t it make your job much easier if you wore roller skates, so you could get around more quickly?”

“Good point.” Rigby said. “Never thought about it until now.”

“I could teach you how to.”

“I’d like that.”

Since Rigby didn’t have a pair of skates, the two of them headed over to the equipment shop to loan a pair. Tyler helped Rigby pick out one that suited him in both size and style.

“That’ll be 5 bucks.” The clerk at the counter stated their total.

Rigby moved to get out his wallet, but Tyler hurriedly threw down a note before the racoon could get cash out. “Consider it a gift.”

“Aw, that’s sweet.” The clerk couldn’t help but remark. Rigby blushed slightly.

“Come on, let’s teach you how to skate. We should start by the guardrail, so you can hold on to it.”

“This is disorienting, Tyler.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll hold onto you.” The swallow grabbed the racoon by the arm, and together they made their way to the field. “We’ll begin by learning how to walk in skates.” Tyler slowly lead Rigby around the rink.

“Okay, I think I’m getting the hang of it.”

“You sure?” Tyler let go of Rigby’s arm, who immediately fell to the ground.

“Okay, maybe not.”

The swallow gave a laugh. “It takes some practice. It’s a lot harder than learning how to play Dig Champs, that’s for sure.” Tyler held out his hand to help Rigby up. “But it’s important to keep trying. Try to mind your balance a bit more.”

The process was difficult, but Tyler turned out to be a pretty good teacher and by the end of an hour Rigby had managed to learn how to stand and take a few steps without Tyler’s help. Another hour, and Rigby was able to let go of the guardrail entirely and stand up on his own.

“Very nicely done, Rigby. Took me a lot longer to learn all of this.”

“Thanks.”

By the third hour Rigby was able to take a few glides (and stop safely, of course). “This is kind of like that time the pond froze over and I went belly-sliding with Mordecai.”

“Belly sliding...now that’s another activity I should try.” Tyler mused to himself.

“Aren’t you a bird? Isn’t that kind of your thing?”

“I’m a swallow. You’re thinking of penguins.” Tyler took a look at his watch. “By the way, it’s nearing one pm. We should probably stop and call it a day.”

“But I want to practice more!”

“It’s no good overdoing it and getting cramps. Come on, I’ll help you get the skates off.” Leading Rigby over to the bench the swallow knelt down and undid the Velcro straps, removing the shoes from the racoon’s paws. “Wanna grab a bite to eat?”

“Sure, but let’s not go to the food court.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” The two mammals made their way around the mall; eventually they spotted a little Japanese restaurant named “The Big Prince Fish Place.”

“Oh my Glob, that’s such bad wordplay.” Tyler groaned upon seeing it.

“I don’t get it?”

Tyler pointed at the sign. “In Japanese that’s translated as _oo-ou-uo-hou_.”

“Ooh. I didn’t know you spoke Japanese, Tyler.”

“When your hobby lies in food you pick up a little bit of every language and culture here and there. You feel like _washoku_ , Rigby?”

“Yeah sure, why not?” Rigby and Tyler got a table. Tyler explained a few of the menu choices to Rigby, who wasn’t too familiar with Japanese cuisine. Buzzing a waitress over Tyler gave their order, who soon returned with a tray with their food. Rigby picked up a bite of something and ate it.

“This tastes like chicken.”

“That’s because that’s fried chicken.”

“Oh.” Rigby took a few more bites. “I didn’t know fried chicken was Japanese.”

“It’s not, but honestly these days it’s impossible to find food that’s exclusively one culture. Globalisation’s lead to a lot of mixing of cuisines. Have you had a rice burger? That’s a hamburger, but with rice instead of bread for the bun.”

The two of them finished their meal and Tyler called the waitress over with the buzzer again, asking for the bill. The lady returned with a slip of paper and some mints; Tyler popped one into his mouth while reading it over.

“So how much do I owe you?” Rigby asked, taking out his wallet.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll pay for the whole thing.” Rigby was about to protest but Tyler shushed him. “You can pay next time.”

“In that case, let’s exchange numbers so we can stay in contact.”

“Sure.” Tyler and Rigby handed each other their phones where they proceeded to add themselves in contacts. With dinner concluded the racoon and the swallow waved goodbye to each other and headed their separate ways; Rigby towards the park, Tyler towards the place where he lived. Reaching the front door of the house the procyon headed upstairs to their shared bedroom. “Mordecai? Are you in here?”

The blue jay was sitting cross-legged on the floor, chewing on a pencil and looking at a bunch of pictures sprawled everywhere. “Hey Rigby.” said Mordecai, not looking up. “Sorry it’s a bit of a mess. This would be so much easier if I had a laptop. I wonder if Benson would loan me one?”

“That stringy bastard? You’d be better off wishing one would fall from the heavens.”

“Good point.” The blue jay scribbled over one of the drawings. “Why does this still not look right?”

“Mordecai, do you also have lectures next Monday?”

“Yeah I do. Probably will for the next few months.”

“Come on! Seriously?”

“We can still hang out Tuesdays to Sundays, can’t we?”

“Lame.” The racoon flopped down on his trampoline.

 _Ding._ A sound from his phone caught his attention; he’d received a text message from Tyler. Opening it Rigby read: _Hey Rigby_ _–_ _today was_ _nice_ _. I’d like to_ _meet up again._ _You free next M_ _onday_ _?_

Rigby texted back. _Y_ _eah._ _Let’s meet._


	7. Chapter 7

The next few weeks went by almost like clockwork. Every Monday, Rigby went to the mall to hang out with Tyler and also learn roller skating while Mordecai was at college. Tuesdays to Saturdays they did whatever jobs Benson wanted them to do, although Mordecai now had to excuse himself often to attend his other modules. And if that wasn’t bad enough, when the bird came back he had to spend what little time after work hours to study and read. This meant that each day there were only a couple of hours where the racoon and the blue jay could spend quality time together.

“I’m not sure I dig this new dynamic between us, man.” Rigby said one night while lying on his trampoline.

“Don’t worry – it’s only until December, then I have holidays and can spend all of it with you.”

“Then what? You need to return to college life after that.”

Mordecai didn’t have a response.

* * *

It was now the end of October, and Halloween was around the corner. Like he’d been doing every Monday for the past month, Rigby exited the house and headed to the mall. There was still an hour before his planned meeting with Tyler, but the racoon thought that since the swallow had been so generous, he should return the favour and also get something thoughtful. Thus Rigby took a walk around the mall, wondering what would be the perfect gift. Eventually he settled for a goofy hat in the shape of a hamburger. It wasn’t ideal, but he wished he knew Tyler a bit better so he could purchase something more apt.

The racoon sat down on the bench where they agreed to meet until Tyler showed up. “Hello, Rigby.”

“Hey Tyler.” The racoon handed the package over. “I got you something.”

“What’s this?” Tyler opened the box. “A hamburger?”

“It’s a hat. I saw it and thought of you. It’s not much, but you know, just to say thanks for everything. Also, Halloween’s coming up, so I thought it’d be appropiate.”

Tyler had put the hamburger hat on. “I love it! This’ll be a great accessory when I have my job. Thanks, Rigby. Now, come on.” Tyler offered his hand. “I believe we have skating to do?”

Rigby started to make his way to the rink, but Tyler stopped him. “Actually, I’m thinking we should get some real world experience. Let’s go skate on the sidewalks instead.”

“I’m not sure I’m ready...”

“Nonsense. I’ve seen you skate; you’ve had tons of practice. As always, I’ll be there to guide and support you.”

The swallow led the racoon over to the equipment shop.

“Hey Tyler. Hey Rigby.” The clerk greeted the two. “Loaning a pair of skates again?”

“Actually, we’re buying a pair this time. Taking it out on the streets.”

“Alright, but watch out you don’t go on the road. If you get run over by a car it is not my fault.”

“We won’t. We’ll just be going for a few loops around the mall today.”

The clerk took out a shoebox. “Here you go. Fresh new pair of skates. That’ll be 35.”

Rigby and Tyler fought over who should be the one paying; Tyler insisted it was nothing but Rigby said he wasn’t going to mooch off of him. Eventually they agreed Rigby pay 25 bucks while Tyler paid the remaining 10.

The two exited the mall and Tyler helped Rigby put on the skates. “Alright, Rigby. This is a reasonably large, empty area, so just take a few steps – not steps, but you know what I mean – to get back in the groove.”

“This is nerve-racking.” Rigby said, wobbling a bit.

“You’re overthinking it. It’s not much different from being in the rink.” Tyler held on to Rigby’s arm. “Might make it easier if you close your eyes and imagine you’re back there.”

Rigby nodded and closed his eyes. The familiarity of the skating rink comforted him, and almost without realising it he’d started to take a few steps forward.

“There you go! See?”

The racoon slowly opened an eye. “I’m doing it! This isn’t so bad.”

Rigby skated around for a few minutes until he gained enough confidence and Tyler started to lead him around the block. Slowly gaining speed, the racoon started speeding along the paths, enjoying the wind blowing on his cheek. “This is much faster than I could ever sprint on foot. Wait till everyone else sees this!”

“Just be careful you can slow down in time.” Tyler said, trying his best to keep up. “Crashing into something would _not_ be fun.” The racoon was going so fast though he was starting to lose sight of Tyler. Rigby skidded to a halt to wait for the swallow, who eventually came running.

“Oh jeez. My legs. I should bring my own pair of skates next time.”

“Thanks, Tyler. This is epic.” In the heat of the moment, the racoon grabbed the swallow and hugged him; realising what he’d done, Rigby pulled back, embarrassed. “Shit, Tyler, I didn’t-”

Rigby didn’t get to finish his sentence because Tyler hugged him back. “You’re such a dork at times, Rigby.”

“Shall we get lunch? It’s getting late.”

“Let’s.”


	8. Chapter 8

“Rigby.”

“What is it, Benson?”

“I’ve come to...congratulate you on your improved work efficiency. I’ll be honest, when you first started wearing those skates I thought it was another one of your dumb jokes or zany schemes, but it turned out it really did help you do everything faster. Good job.”

“Thanks.” Rigby finished up what he was doing. “I presume you want to give me something else to do?”

“Actually, that’s all the chores for the day.” The gumball machine said slowly, not quite believing it himself. “So...you may quit working a couple of hours early.”

“For reals? Aw sweet! Thanks Benson! Woooooaaaahhhh!”

“Again, please stop doing that.”

Rigby headed out the park towards College U. The racoon decided he’d use this precious time to visit Tyler and pick up some hamburgers that he’d been craving.

Thomas was at Tyler’s stall, which surprised Rigby since he’d thought he was the only one who will come all the way here when college was closed. Then again, if no one visits Tyler probably wouldn’t be open so it made sense, he supposed.

Rigby grabbed a stool and sat down. Tyler gave a wave.

“What’ll it be, Rigby?”

“Do you still have the chimichanga hamburger?”

“Sorry, but no. That was a one time thing.”

“Ah well. In that case I’ll just have a double meat stack.”

“One double meat stack, coming right at ya.”

While his hamburger was being made Rigby got Thomas’ attention, who smiled and gave the racoon a friendly ruffle on the head.

“Sup, Rigby. Where’s Mordecai?”

“Mordecai’s back at the house reading up on textbooks.”

“Textbooks? Oh boy. I hope he loaned them from the library instead of buying them, otherwise he just wasted a lot of money.”

“Ugh. Tell me about it.” Tyler brought out Rigby’s order. “Worst 800 dollars I ever spent.”

“You spent 800 dollars on textbooks?!”

“Yup. That’s college for you.” Thomas replied.

“Sheesh. Mordecai might be better off forgetting the whole degree thing and just continue to work at the park with me.”

Tyler was thoughtful. “You know, I just realised. I’ve lived in this city all my life and I’ve never been to the park.”

Rigby gave a dismissive snort. “Don’t visit. It’s crappy.”

“Is it?” said Thomas. “I think it’s a nice enough place, provided a certain someone did their job.”

“Dick. I totally do my job!”

“Hmmm...I’m half tempted to follow you back just to see what sad state you left the park in. Tyler, you should join us.”

“I kind of have work, Thomas.”

“It’s almost five. Just call it a bit early today. Come on.” Thomas pointed a thumb at the door. “It’s not like anyone else is going to come in. Autumn is the best time to visit a park. You get to see a flurry of red and orange leaves fluttering in the breeze, it’s not too hot but it’s not too cold either.”

“Disagree. It’s friggin freezing right now.” Rigby piped up.

“That’s because you don’t wear anything.”

“Alright, you’ve convinced me.” Tyler conceded. “Just give me a sec to close up shop.”

* * *

“Well, here we are. The park.” Rigby gestured unenthusiastically.

“It doesn’t look that bad.” responded Tyler.

“I’ll say, Rigby. The park looks great.” Thomas took a whiff of the bushes by the roadside. “Are these new roses?”

“Yeah, Benson put them up a while after you left. Had a hell of a time planting them, what with the thorns and all.”

“Hello! Welcome to-” Benson’s fake retail smile faded as he realised who the newcomers were. “Oh. It’s you, Rigby. Who’s the other guy?”

“This is Tyler. I’m just showing him around the park.”

“Well, there are worse people I suppose.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, hey Benson.” Whatever Benson was going to give as an answer remained unknown, as Thomas had finished sniffing the roses and joined the conversation. Seeing the goat, the gumball machine gave a wide smile.

“Thomas! It’s so good to see you again. Are you busy? There are so many things I want to talk to you about.”

“Well no, not particularly...”

“Great.” Grabbing onto Thomas’ arm, Benson dragged him over to the house. “We’ll have a chat over in my office. See, the park’s visitor count has been going down, and we’d love your input...”

“But I don’t work here?” Thomas’ protests faded away as they got further away from Rigby and Tyler. This left the racoon and the swallow on their own. A bit of awkward silence ensued before Tyler asked politely, “So...anything interesting to do around here?”

“The only interesting thing here is the video game system we have in the house.”

“Oh.”

Feeling like a bad host, Rigby scratched behind his head and offered, “I could take you for a loop around the park in the golf cart?”

“That sounds great.” With that, the two of them headed over to where the golf cart was parked, Rigby getting in the driver’s seat while Tyler sat next to him.

“Rigby, I don’t mean to be rude but are you sure you’re tall enough to drive this thing?”

“Oh yes, of course of course. Don’t worry about it.” Rigby stepped on the gas. The golf cart made its way around the park with the two passengers in it. Along the way, Rigby pointed out the landmarks they passed. “Fountain...banquet hall...Muscle Man’s trailer...used to be a giant pit here, but we filled it up...snack bar...”

“Ooh, a snack bar! Can we stop for some snacks?”

“Sure thing, Tyler. I could also do with a snack anyway.” Rigby stopped the cart.

Muscle Man was manning the counter of the snack bar. “Sup ladies? What can I get you?”

“Just get me a buncha nachos, Muscle Man. What do you want, Tyler?”

“I’d like the hamburger, please.”

“Dude, seriously?” Rigby remarked. “You own a hamburger place.”

“I always make it my duty to try burgers from any place that serves them. That way, I can get ideas on how to improve my recipes.”

“Here’s your food, guy.” Muscle Man offered the burger to Tyler on a disposable plate. “Rigby, can I talk to you in private for a sec?” Sighing and hoping this wasn’t going to be another practical joke, Rigby went around to the back where the door to the snack bar was where Muscle Man was waiting.

“Is this the guy who made the hamburgers you handed out on Monday’s meeting?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you like him or do you just like his burgers?”

“I-” It took Rigby a second to digest what Muscle Man was saying. “We’re not dating!”

Muscle Man laughed. “For real though, it’s good you’ve finally found a friend other than Mordecai.”

Rigby gave an embarrassed laugh. “Well, don’t tell Mordecai, okay? He’s already busy with schoolwork, I don’t want to give him extra stress to worry about.”

“Relax, bro. Your secret’s safe with me.” Muscle Man replied.

“Thanks, Muscle Man.” Rigby headed back round to the front of the snack bar where Tyler was.

“So, what did your co-worker want?” Realising that might’ve been nosy, Tyler added, “That is, provided you’re willing to tell me.”

“Oh, it’s just some junk about work.” Rigby waved off the question. “Come on, let’s just go back to the house.”

Getting back to the house proved to be a much quicker affair since Rigby just beelined the golf cart to the building. The racoon stepped off, the swallow followed. Another awkward silence ensued.

“So uh, that brings us to the end of the tour. Told’ya this place is crappy.”

“I don’t know, I think it was a fun way to spend an afternoon.”

“You’re just being polite.” Rigby replied.

A cough.

“Didn’t you say you had a video game system?” asked Tyler.

“Oh, sure we do. You know Dig Champs?”

“Never played it.”

“Oh, you are so missing out.” Holding the swallow’s hand Rigby dragged Tyler over to the living room. Booting up the game the racoon handed the bird the controller. “Here. You can be Player 1. Player 2’s not as good, but you’re the house guest. The objective of the game is simple: Defeat all the enemies, get to the end of the level.”

“Neat.” Tyler pressed right on the D-pad and immediately suicided into an enemy. “Oh.”

“Don’t worry, it takes some practice. Let’s try again.”

Tyler and Rigby sat back down on the couch and played through the rest of Dig Champs. Neither of them were much good, but it didn’t matter – they were having fun. By the time they reached the final level hours had passed.

“Ah. That was satisfying.” Rigby laid back on the couch. “You wanna order Wing Kingdom?”

“Sure.”


	9. Chapter 9

“Muscle Man, I need to use the computer!” The blue jay tried to snatch the mouse away from the overweight man.

“Well tough luck Mordecai, maybe you should’ve scheduled a slot in advance.” Holding the pointing device in one hand Muscle Man used his other hand keep the bird as far away from the computer as possible. “Can’t you just use one of the computers at the college library?”

“It’s cold and I don’t want to walk for half an hour.”

“Failure to plan does not mean an emergency on my part. Now shoo.”

The avian gave up and headed back to his room to grab his student ID. Putting on a sweater Mordecai made his way to College U, snaking his way amongst the many campus buildings until he reached the library. Even though it was Sunday there were a ton of students and Mordecai had to search for a while until his eyes finally spotted a seat that wasn’t being used by anyone.

Mordecai pressed his student ID against the card reader on the computer. _Beep._ The machine displayed a loading screen for a few seconds before logging him in. Searching through the installed programmes the blue jay managed to find the one he was looking for and double-clicked on it. Another loading screen appeared.

“Come on...” Mordecai clicked on the mouse furiously, knowing it didn’t do anything but doing it regardless to keep himself occupied. Eventually he was greeted with a welcome screen; the blue jay quickly filled in his info and began his work.

The tutorial was not of much help and the blue jay fumbled a bit with all the complicated features that the animator had to offer, mostly learning via experimentation. The professor had warned that these sorts of programmes had a very steep learning curve and everyone should be prepared to spend an hour or two simply learning their way around the UI. At the time Mordecai was sure he was simply exaggerating, but now he believed a couple of hours might be an understatement. The blue jay glanced at the sheet of paper with his assignment: animating a figure walking. He’d expected he’d be finished by now and get back to the house in time for dinner. But at this rate, he might not make it home until midnight.

The blue jay gave a groan. “Why did I wait until the last minute?”

* * *

“So, like, have you seen Mordecai at the cafeteria?” Rigby waved a wing around, eyes unfocused.

“No, it’s uh...I’ll remember if that guy came in. He most certainly has not been in.” Tyler hiccuped. “Excuse me.”

“That Mordecai. Why doesn’t he want your hamburgers? I want your hamburgers. I want your meat inside me.”

“Dude, that’s gross, Rigby.”

Rigby gave a goofy smile. “You totally like it.” The racoon rummaged around the bucket to find it was empty. “Aw, lame. We ate all the wings.”

“We ordered like, five dozen wings Rigby. You still hungry?”

“Eh. I’ll just grab something from the fridge later.”

Tyler stood up, swaying a bit. “It’s getting late. I think I’ll go home.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? You seem kinda off.”

“I’m totally fine.” The swallow took two steps and promptly fell over.

“Dude. Maybe you should crash at my place tonight.”

* * *

 _Beep!_ The noise startled Mordecai from his half-asleep state; staring at the computer screen in front of him, the bird saw that the animation programme had finished rendering his project. “Finally. Took me way longer than it should have, but at least I have something to show tomorrow.”

Taking a glance at the time the bird was surprised to find out it was nearly nine. “Ah, crap. I need to get back home soon.” Mordecai got up from his seat, his bones complaining at the sudden movement. Taking a look around the bird saw that most other students had left. The library, once cosy, now felt large and empty and unwelcoming.

Mordecai exited the building and headed back to the park. Fumbling a bit with the keys due to the cold, the blue jay unlocked the front door and headed upstairs to his room where he saw Rigby chatting with some swallow.

“Mordecai!” Rigby shrieked, moving away from the swallow like he’d been burned. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Who’s this joker?”

The racoon gave a sigh. “I guess you were gonna find out eventually. This is Tyler, my new friend.”

“Your friend?” Mordecai processed this information. “You have other friends now?”

“Yeah.”

“How long have you known him?”

“Dunno, like, three months? We started hanging out since the end of September, roughly when you began your freshman year.”

“Shit, Rigby,” The blue jay rubbled his temples, “How come you never told me?”

“Guess it just never came up.” The racoon replied. “We hardly see each other anymore, what with you having lectures and reading and all. So I found someone else to spend time with.”

“Wow. Have we really been that distant?”

Rigby nodded.

“Shit.” Mordecai said again, not really sure what else to say. “Maybe I’ve been too focused on my studies.”

“Hey, it’s cool.” Tyler said. “Having a college degree is vital for a job. Can’t blame you for taking it seriously.”

“Ahem.” Rigby crossed his arms.

“A _good_ job.”

“Touché.”

“No, it’s not cool.” Mordecai countered. “I shouldn’t neglect my friends no matter what. I’ve stated that when we were in the timenado, I’m not going back on my words.” The blue jay grabbed Rigby by the shoulder. “Rigby, I promise you. From now on, we’re going to be spending more time together. Playing games, goofing off, saving the park from Armageddon...”

“Wait, what?” Tyler asked.

“Something about this park attracts weird. Although it seems to have ceased the past few years.”

“Anyway,” Mordecai said, “Shall we do something together?”

“Sure. You wanna play a board game or something? I think there’s an old one lying in the closet somewhere.” Rigby opened the door to their walk-in closet, taking out a box. “How ‘bout this one?”

“Aw man, I haven’t played this since high school.” Mordecai sat down on the floor, grinning.

“Neither have I.” Tyler joined Mordecai. “Memories.”

“Alright. I’m gonna be the pirate.”

“Aw what? I wanna be the pirate!”

“Too bad, I called dibs!”

“You lame, Rigby.”


	10. Epilogue

“So...” Mordecai said to Rigby one January day. “I think I’m gonna drop out of college.”

“Really?” Rigby skidded to a halt. “Why?”

“Because it’s way more work than I thought it would be. I worked as hard as I could, but I barely passed my assignments. Who knew animation was so hard?” Mordecai threw the garbage bag he was holding into the dumpster. “At least with park duties it’s just tedious.”

“It’s not easy, man. Takes a team years to animate a single 11 minute episode.”

“Can you imagine if I got a job as an animator?” Mordecai chuckled. “Maybe I’ll make a documentary about our misadventures at the park.”

“Nobody would believe it’s true. You’d have to make it a cartoon. But fat chance any Network picks it up.” Rigby mused.

“Also, I can’t believe Benson gave you an actual Glob-damned promotion and raise. If I can get Benson to give me one as well then I don't see why I should bother spending thousands on a degree just to get a job that ends up paying a bit more."

"Well, these roller skates really help decrease travel time.”

“Man, I should learn how to skate.”

“I could teach you.” Rigby did a 360. Mordecai gave a huff.

“Show off.”

“Tyler and I are actually planning to do a skate across town next Monday, you wanna join?”

“I’d love to. That's my third reason for dropping out, actually: So I could more time with you. I thought I could juggle everything, but college is a massive investment I'm not willing to make." Mordecai took out a sheet of paper.

“What’s that?”

“My grades.” Ripping the piece of paper in half, the blue jay tossed it into the dumpster as well. “College U? More like forget U.”


End file.
